Jump to content

N.S. Meyer 1st Pattern Command Pilot


Gary B
 Share

Recommended Posts

Going thru some wings in my collection and am seeking opinions on this Command Pilot. PIn stops at 45 degrees.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Gary Bpost-6817-0-05374700-1491182491_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I like it! Some might be concerned about the space between the shield and the star & wreath... but I think they're factory-made in that fashion by whomever Meyer contracted with to make them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Very nice wings. I see no "red flags", I think they are genuine.
Maybe the wreath has been added by the Pilot himself, who knows.
I may be wrong but... could it be pre-WWII vintage?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Beautiful original period Meyers. You can't effectively fake that natural fine powder spotted erosion of the plating on the back side. Congratulations on the find!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hard to say for sure from photos, but it seems that the spaces between vertical stripes are flat (there aren't small thin vertical stripes between them): I read somewhere that USAAF pre-WWII wings had this feature (in this case, maybe these are pre-WWII wings later modified with the addition of Command Star & wreath): is it true?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In regards to Tomcatter--

 

There are some "general" rule of thumbs about post 1919 and pre 1941 pilot wings.

 

1) the early wings are closer to being exactly 3 inches long, while the later wings are closer to 3.2 or so inches (I forget the exact size but they are a tad longer).

2) the pins are heavier and the catch is typically a "drop in" style, or "c" type rather than the "catch under" catch of the newer wings.

3) as stated above, the area between the little vertical bars tends to be smooth in earlier wings, and have very small lines in the newer wings

4) the star tends to be smaller in the earlier wings compared to newer wings.

 

Pelican beak wing patterns are a WWII pattern.

The Adams design overlaps considerably with the pelican beak wings from WWII to KW.

 

These are just broad rules of thumb and there are many many exemptions, variations and modifications to these "rules"

 

The NS Meyer command pilot wing is a variation using their earlier pattern and adding the command pilot star and wreath. As pointed out, the command pilot wing wasn't authorized until 1941, so it was more than likely a WWII or even KW-made version. IMHO, the eally early pre-WWII NS Meyer wings tend to be made of silver plated brass, rather than sterling silver. But again, I suspect that is a rule with many excemtions as well.

 

 

P

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...